this is bbc news i'm samantha simmonds. our top stories. uk conservative party chairman nadhim zahawi says an error in his tax affairs was accepted by authorities as having been "careless and not deliberate" labour have reported former prime minister borisjohnson to the parliamentary standards watchdog over allegations that bbc chairman richard sharp helped him arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000. thousands of israelis take to the streets against benjamin netanyahu's right wing coalition in what could be the biggest anti—government protests in a decade. president zelensky says he'll keep asking western allies to send modern tanks to ukraine, after a meeting of more than 50 countries ended without agreement translation: we will still have to fight - for the supply of modern tanks.

but every day we make it more obvious — there is no alternative to making the decision on tanks. hello to you in the uk and around the world. the chair of the conservative party nadim zahawi has confirmed that he made a payment to the tax office to settle a disagreement about his tax affairs. mr zahawi said hmrc accepted that an error concerning shares he gave to his father — for help in setting up the polling company yougov in 2000 — had been careless and not deliberate. it comes after newspaper reports that he'd paid a seven figure sum and been subject to a penalty. it's understood the dispute over mr zahawi's taxes was resolved while he was serving as chancellor of the exchequer. earlier labour had called on nadim zahawi to resign. here's our political

correspondent helen catt. do you have anything - you want to say, mr zahawi? nadim zahawi was out and about this morning, although not to talk to the press. instead, it was a cabinet colleague who defended him to the cameras, against claims he tried to avoid tax. i don't know about nadhim's personal tax affairs, i wouldn't know them, they are personal and private to him. but he has been very clear that he has paid all his tax due in the uk, that his tax accounts are up—to—date and he has engaged with hmrc. so that is the position and i think he has been very transparent about this. if he needs to answer any further questions, i'm sure he'll do so. last year, mr zahawi was, for a few months, borisjohnson�*s chancellor, in charge of the country's finances. asked in the summer about his financial affairs, he dismissed claims that hmrc was investigating him as inaccurate smears. now mr zahawi has confirmed that he did pay money to settle a disagreement with hmrc. he said it related to shares in the polling company, yougov, which he set up in 2000.

he said his dad had given him money to do it and got some shares in return as a founder. in a statement issued this afternoon, mr zahawi said that hmrc had disagreed about the exact allocation, and that he had chosen to settle the matter and pay what they said was due. he said hmrc had concluded that this was a careless and not deliberate error. there are some things which are still not clear. how much was paid, for example. a source close to mr zahawi suggested that there hadn't been any sort of negotiation or discussion, that he had simply paid what hmrc told him to. but it also appears that that happened while he was the chancellor of the exchequer, and in charge of the country's finances. labour says there are still things he needs to explain. and, earlier, the shadow chancellor was scathing. when the prime minister came into office he said he would run a government that would have honesty, integrity and professionalism at its heart. none of those three things

are happening today. mr zahawi said the matter was resolved and all his tax affairs were up—to—date when prime minister rishi sunak appointed him as the party chairman. he has now given some explanation. the question will be, if it's enough. the opposition labour party has reported former prime minister borisjohnson to the parliamentary standards watchdog following allegations reported in tomorrow's sunday times that the bbc chairman richard sharp helped the former prime minister to arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000 just weeks before johnson selected him for his currentjob. i'm joined now by gabriel pogrund, whitehall editor of the sunday times, and one of the authors of this story explain the details to us. the chairman _ explain the details to us. the chairman of _ explain the details to us. the chairman of the _ explain the details to us. the chairman of the bbc - explain the details to us. tie chairman of the bbc was involved behind the scenes about boris

johnson's finances at the same time that he had a live application for the role and he wants to go on to receive the government support for. in october 2020, applications closed in the following month, he dined with a friend of his a man by the name of sam, a foreign citizen, distant cousin of borisjohnson was interested in the idea of helping underwrite that then prime minister's lifestyle. he had a lot of difficulties with devolved care costs. and in the nation's top official in downing street and they discuss the matter and briefed the

prime minister and it was in november 2020 or early december that the meeting occurred in the cabinet office, a kind of internal conduct produced a formal letter tojohnson expressly stating that he has stopped soliciting advice from sharp in respect to his private financial matters. we in respect to his private financial matters. ~ . ., ., ., matters. we have that reaction from the former prime _ matters. we have that reaction from the former prime minister— matters. we have that reaction from the former prime minister this - the former prime minister this evening. we've heard from the former prime minister this evening. a spokesman for borisjohnson said —

bbc chairman richard sharp said, what is the political reaction? that was a meal— what is the political reaction? “twat was a meal featuring johnson and on the loan and sharp, how to checkers, the loan and sharp, how to checkers, the prime ministers residence. the former prime minister characterised, i do know is referring to specifically but he has used the word rubbish and he insists that when of his interests was properly declared in there are questions for sharp and job applications stated that candidates were not eligible if they failed to disclose conflicts of interest. politically, he asked what the reaction is and it is inevitably

focusing on the prime minister and the shadow culture secretary, the party referred to the committee for standards in the culture secretary featured a few months ago that the revelations on this and the bbc and its reputation for neutrality and impartiality. and notice of the political establishment and civil service but the prime minister but also the chairman and again for the sake of fairness and i'm sure you will in due course, he has acknowledged that he introduced johnson possible as guarantor, the man wonder road a six figure financials facility, he didn't introduce them to the case and as for this, there was no interest to declare and he said his activities were no further and his position is

straightforward in that respect. he said there was no conflict of interest and i suppose the act of introducing this to the nations top official and not in and of itself at least a potential perceived conflict in his position is emphatic. bbc chairman richard sharp said, "there is not a conflict when i simply connected, at his request, mr blyth with the cabinet secretary and had no further involvement whatsoever." a bbc spokesman said: "the bbc plays no role in the recruitment of the chair and any questions are a matter for the government." the cabinet office have been contacted but have not commented to the bbc. thousands of israelis have packed the streets of several cities in the second weekend of large scale demonstrations against benjamin netanyahu's right wing coalition. this was the scene in tel aviv in what organisers believe could be one of the biggest anti—government protests in a decade. protesters are accusing mr netanyahu

of threatening democracy with the most radically nationalist and religious coalition the country's ever known. already, plans for legal reforms have sparked an unprecedented clash between the government and thejudges; while the prime minister himself is on trial for corruption. the bbc�*s tom bateman is in tel aviv these protesters say they believe there is a coup going on to try to dismantle israel's system of government by netanyahu, by this coalition, it is the most radically nationalist right—wing religious government in israel's history. it has brought all these people out onto the streets of tel aviv tonight. i was just chatting to one woman who is here with her baby son that said she was so concerned about the direction of the country that she was considering leaving it and that she didn't want her son to serve in the army. for something like that for israel is that is a profound point. for something like that for israelis that is a profound point. the reason they are allowed here is that coalition being into its third week.

they've talked about their believe that benjamin netanyahu wants to water down the independence of the courts. they see that as an attack on israeli democracy. mr netanyahu has been dismissive throughout these protests, they say they are effectively denying the will of the people and said there was much bigger demonstration, that was the election took place in november and led to the formation of his coalition. police tonight are estimating numbers that were greater than last week when they released 80,000 are estimating. that would make this certainly the biggest anti—government demonstration in israel recent years. president zelensky and the first lady have been taking part in a memorial in kyiv for interior minister denys monastyrsky and 13 other people killed following a helicopter crash. the accident happened earlier this week in a suburb of kyiv, and set a kindergarten on fire.

president zelensky says he'll keep asking western allies to send modern tanks to ukraine, after a meeting of allied nations in germany on friday ended without an agreement to provide them. protests have taken place in berlin — to demand the approval of german—made tanks to be sent to kyiv. i spoke to boyan panchevski, germany correspondent at the wall streetjournal and asked him about the negative reaction in the country following this decision. basically, the chancellor is facing a huge problem at home in berlin. there has been a protest in front of his office. much more than that, the media in general has turned against him and also leading figures from his own coalition government have spoken against his decision to effectively veto the delivery of german—made tanks also

from other countries. under these arms export rules, german tanks that have been sold by germany to third countries need to be approved by the government if they were going to be re—exported to ukraine. countries like poland or finland are also unable, although they are willing to contribute tanks to kyiv. it's been a pretty tough week for the chancellor. i think his decision has not been communicated very well, people don't quite understand what's going on and why it's happening. and so, i think he's raising enormous pressure within his own coalition as well as the international public from allies and the media at home. a lot of analysts expect he will eventually have to correct and somehow lift this unspoken veto. he has been cautious from the beginning and his reaction to ukraine and what they've sent. initially, very reluctant

to do bury them off. that has increased over the past year in terms of military equipment and money that is the assessment at some point he will acquiesce? he's being very cautious in taking his time and being very careful of what reaction may be from russia. yes. that argument is very difficult to explain by his own people. when i talk to them, i don't quite get it anymore. germany has, as you said, been cautious since april or mid year. since they have delivered some of the most powerful, potent pieces of artillery to ukraine the self—propelled howitzers, multiple rocket launchers, these things are extremely powerful. they are much more powerful than a tank. they're being used on the front line every day. they have a reach of over 30 km. it's very difficult to explain why a tank is this totemic, that

this is meant to be causing escalation when they have sent much bigger and powerful star. bigger and powerful stuff. there is something about the tank that seems to be bothering mr schultz personally. his people will say that president biden of the united states has not sent tanks. you have to remember at the moment i think britain is the only country that has officially announced that they will be sending 14 tanks. essentially, he is saying i'm only going to do this if president biden goes a long with it. that is difficult to explain because prior to that he has been saying we will go along with whatever nato decides, our european allies decide. it's difficult to explain to people why a tank should be an escalation where a much bigger weapon has been there for months and months. boyan panchevski, thank you very much for your analysis and time.

stay with us on bbc news, still to come: tens of millions of people are on the move in china to visit family and friends for new year celebrations. donald trump is now the 45th president of the united states. he was sworn in before several hundred thousand people on the steps of capitol hill, in washington. it's going to be only america first. america first. demonstrators waiting - for mike gatting and his rebel cricket team were attacked with tear gas and set upon by police dogs. - anti—apartheid campaigners say they will carry on the protests . throughout the tour. they called him the butcher of lyon. klaus altmann is being held

on a fraud charge in bolivia. the west germans want to extradite him for crimes committed in wartime france. there, he was the gestapo chief, klaus barbie. millions came to bathe as close as possible to this spot — a tide of humanity that's believed by officials to have broken all records. this is bbc news, let's return to our top story — the news that the chair of the conservative party nadim zahawi has confirmed that he made a payment to the tax office to settle a disagreement about his tax affairs. my colleague kasia madera spoke to rebecca benneyworth, a chartered accountant who writes on tax issues. she says the tax authorities carefully check what you tell them and cross reference it with information they have: they were very sophisticated computer system which goes off and gets data from all sorts of places and memories that data and spots

anomalies that they're concerned about. but what we are led to believe here in his case is that it wasn't how all of this started. the suggestion is that mr zahawi went to hmrc once there was a problem with his texan came forward and the rate of penalty and some of the information and the public domain suggests that is true. so, he actually went to hmrc and said look, there is a problem, i need to come clean and i need to tell you all about it. ~ , ., ., about it. we see the rate of penalty. — about it. we see the rate of penalty. explain _ about it. we see the rate of penalty, explain to - about it. we see the rate of penalty, explain to help - about it. we see the rate of penalty, explain to help us| penalty, explain to help us understand in that case would it have been a potentially higher penalty. i cannot verify the exact figures for the guardian is reporting that it was a penalty of 30%. reporting that it was a penalty of 3096. , ., , reporting that it was a penalty of 3096. ,, 3096. the report is consistent with what mr zahawi _ 3096. the report is consistent with what mr zahawi said _ 3096. the report is consistent with what mr zahawi said in _ 3096. the report is consistent with what mr zahawi said in his - 3096. the report is consistent with i what mr zahawi said in his statement this afternoon and that hmrc agreed

that his behaviour was careless and not deliberate. so, what the penalty senses once you've had tax inquiry or you've come forward and said i have a problem, right at the end of it, hmrc have to go into a bit of a look and see where you careless in underpaying your tax and how this purity legislation works is fairly straightforward and use in the document to hmrc which is inaccurate and as a result of that inaccuracy, you hundred pager tax legislation then sets right, we need to look at how this happened. were you careless? was a deliberate? did you send it deliberately incorrect tax return or even worse still, did you mistake your tax and try to cover it up mistake your tax and try to cover it up afterwards? because of the levels of penalty and much higher penalties for deliberate and with the court deliberate and concealed. so, careless is what is been agreed. and

if this was just to do with the uk, the maximum penalty is 30% and you get a reduction, the losses for the call disclosure. that involves you coming forward and may be hmrc asking about it and you putting your hands up and how you work with hmrc while you're sorting all of it out. did you give them all the information they needed, did you let them see all of your information so that you could arrive at the right amount of tax? the difference here with zahawi is that the shares, if thatis with zahawi is that the shares, if that is what he paid in relation, they were in an offshore structure in gibraltar. when the inaccuracy relates to something that happens offshore, the penalty legislation is a bit more aggressive. and so, the

starting point goes up to 45%, gibraltar is called a category two territory in the middle range of penalty and it starts off at 45%. if you come forward without being asked about it you can reduce the penalty in the minimum you'll get is 22 and a half percent and if our analysis is right, it seems to stack up with what is in the public domain, he did come forward voluntarily because the penalty for what they call prompted disclosure, after hmrc, they said wait a minute, what is going on. that is much higher. and it is likely that he came forward voluntarily and she was moderately cooperative, not100% voluntarily and she was moderately cooperative, not 100% cooperative, otherwise the penalty would have been 22 and a half percent, the minimum level. and slightly less than overly enthusiastic, hmrc

started and try to get the whole thing resolved by the applicant reduction and so, what was negotiating for him in dealing with hmrc, to the circumstances, i think a lot of people are commenting today, not a bad outcome in terms of penalties and 30%. the scottish transport tycoon dame ann gloag has strongly denied what she's called �*malicious�* allegations made against her, after being charged with human trafficking offences. the 80—year—old co—founder of stagecoach said sje would vigorously defend herself, her family and the charitable foundation she established. police scotland confirmed that four people have been charged following an investigation into alleged human trafficking and immigration offences. all four strongly deny the charges there's been another day of protests in france — against president macron�*s pension reform plans. left—wing party unbowed and other youth organistations have been marching in paris. on friday, the country saw nationwide strikes — affecting travel, finance, education and other sectors.

organisers say they are opposed to raising the state pension age from 62 to 64. president macron says it's the best way —to ensure the system remains affordable. peru has closed the famous inca citadel of machu picchu because of anti— government protests. hundreds of tourists have been left stranded. violent protests have continued in the peruvian capital, as thousands of demonstrators descended on lima, demanding the resignation of president dina boluarte. peru's ministry of culture said the closure of machu picchu and the inca trails network had been ordered to keep visitors safe because of the social situation. it said tourists would be given the assistance they need and tickets would be refunded or be valid for one month after the end of the protests. tens of millions of people are on the move in china to visit family and friends for new year celebrations. it's the first spring festival in the country since the lifting

of covid restrictions — but there are concerns that the movement of so many people will help spread the virus. michael bristow reports. there's excitement, and relief, as china begins celebrating its first lunar new year since the lifting of covid restrictions. not surprisingly, there are more travellers than last year. there are expected to be 2 billion individualjourneys in china over the whole holiday, although that's still fewer than before the outbreak began. for some, it's a first get—together since the start of the pandemic. translation: i'm very happy to see my son and his family. | this is ourfirst reunion in three years. but covid is casting a shadow over the new year. many are still cautious about travelling. people fear they could be taking disease home with them. translation: although we have opened up, i still have concerns. _ everyone needs to take measures to protect themselves. and for parents and the elderly,

who have not got covid yet, we still need to be careful for them. in a new year address, china's leader xijinping promised glories and dreams in the upcoming year of the rabbit. in perhaps a veiled reference to china's current covid crisis, he said this passing year's achievements had not come easy. chinese officials are trying to convince the public that the worst is over, but there are fears that such a huge movement of people across china over the lunar new year could fuel further covid infections, and deaths. michael bristow, bbc news. the former us astronaut — and the second person to walk on the moon — buzz aldrin — has got married for the fourth time — coinciding with his 93rd birthday. pictures from their private los angeles ceremony were shared by buzz aldrin on social media. the former pilot said that he and new wife 63—year—old dr anca faur were as �*excited

as eloping teenagers' hello. we have seen some monitor conditions moving in from the northwest by many further south and east still have the clear skies overhead and frost and some fog near the ground, this is the picture a little bit earlier on and we will see a real mix on sunday and still sticking with the cloud and milder theme in the northwest was ran around the further south and east, called frosty with some lingering fog in that contrast on the fact that we still have this cold air mass with us across central and southern areas in this weather front northwest bringing some milder conditions and some patchy rain to the course the day too. for the rest of the overnight period, there's that rain pushing across the western

scotland and northern ireland and fog forming through the early hours across many central and eastern and southern parts of england in particular to start for sunday morning it was a temptress down to around —6 or possibly minus seven degrees towards the south and east and in the northwest. to the day on sunday, fog in the east and slowly clearing away and some rain for parts of western scotland and through the irish sea coasts in pembrokeshire, cornwall for instance. some sunshine develops a that fog slowly lifts away through southern and eastern england but if you pull between three degrees in the instrument cordry to see the fog lingering and perhaps double figures and the like of belfast for instance. clear skies across the north of scotland as he moved to sunday night out of monday, more of the same, according frosty towards the same, according frosty towards the southern temperatures down below freezing but frost free with milder weather holding on across scotland and northern ireland. this area of high pressure which is really building across much of the uk has been moved into monday. otherfronts in the far north and there could be

some rain for north and scotland and northern ireland is for instance, the art splash from the irish sea coasts. some sunshine again developing for the bulk of england and wales after that fog gradually clears away. top temperatures again hundred three to 5 degrees and the chubby side some sunshine towards the south amount of milder but cloudier in the north and the west. and as he had to the middle of the week, high pressure around in a weak front is making its way south and introducing a few splashes of rain. the outlook, a lot of dry weather but it will be turning milder to the week ahead and also rather cloudy at times too. bye—bye.

this is bbc news, the headlines the chair of the conservative party nadim zahawi has confirmed that he made a payment to the tax office to settle a disagreement about his tax affairs. it's understood the dispute over mr zahawi's taxes was resolved while he was serving as chancellor of the exchequer. labour have reported former prime minister borisjohnson to the parliamentary standards watchdog over allegations that bbc chairman richard sharp helped him arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800,000. president zelensky says he'll keep asking western allies to send modern tanks to ukraine, after a meeting of more than 50 countries ended without agreement. millions of people around the world are preparing for the start of the lunar new year.

you are watching bbc news. now.. can sri lanka and other countries put any kind of climate adaptation policy front and centre amid the worlds growing economic crisis? here's global questions: welcome from sri lanka capitol. i am on the cities beautiful waterfronts, along the indian oceans. sri lanka standing coastline mix of popular with visitors there is many around the region, extreme weather rising sea levels and is sri lanka summary of a test of what not to do and

environmental challenges. and for copp 27 agreement, help developing